Posts Tagged ‘palestine’

Mondays are not at all like fridays… not at all! The weather sucks, I overslept a lot because I was up till 4 watching videos about the holographic universe, and this time I really did leave the headset at home. Oh, and to top it off, my buss is filled with annoying little firstgraders. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate kids, it’s just that when they band together, each individual’s annoyingness goes exponential…

Anyway, that’s the intro. It’s a little long, but I’m ready to move on. The only problem is, I really just got on here to whine about how badly my day started, so I’m not entirely sure how I should follow up.

I guess I’ll talk a bit about Israel, it’s been a long time since it’s been mentioned on this here site, which is a bit out of character for us, so someone has to make us predictable again, and it might as well be the chaotic one.

Israel, “the only democracy in the region,” is of course rabidly supporting “President” Mubarak of Egypt, the dictator who has ruled for three decades. This seeming contradiction of a democracy supporting a dictator is very surprising to absolutely no one at all. Why is that? Maybe it’s because Israel is hardly democratic at all. Any country that systematically opresses part of it’s people with a given ethnicity has no right to call itself a democracy!

But Burie, how can you say such horrible things!? There are surely Palestinians in the Knesset! That is true, there are a few, however record shows that they have never had a decisive vote in a single case, in if such a situation has ever been imminent, the vote is not held, and the matter has been decided in back rooms in discussions where the Palestinians have not been present. If that is hard for you to believe, I shall append links at the end of this blog to prove my accusation as soon as I get on a computer.

Furthermore, in order to continue their blockade of the Gaza strip, Israel is completely dependent on Egypt upholding their blockade, as Gaza has a small border to Egypt in the south. If Egypt were to develop into an honest to God democracy, which it will, mark my words, then they might not be so keen on ruthlessly oppressing an entire people any more. So you see, Israel is terrified of democracy spreading in the region. If it can no longer falsely call itself the only democracy, it can’t expect to be the only friend of the west either (although the US did support Mubarak, but that’s a subject for another blog). In Israel’s eyes, no longer having a monopoly on telling us the truth, we, the west might start to hear certain truths that do not agree with the truths that they’ve been feeding us. Most importantly, that Israel isn’t a democracy, and that Palestine is even worse off than even the most liberal media has dared to whisper of to date. For these reasons, the democratic revolutions in the region are extremely exciting.

I read one of the most amazing, heartbreaking and enlightening novels I have ever read this summer. The book is titled Mornings in Jenin, and is said to be “[…] a heart-wrenching, powerfully written novel that could do for Palestine what The Kite Runner did for Afghanistan”. And I believe this to be absolutely true!

The story of the novel revolves around a palestinian family, through different generations, and through the history of the occupation, the wars, and about life in the refugee-camps. The family history starts in Ein Hod, Palestine in 1941, and it continues untill present time.

The author, Susan Abulhawa, is a palestinian refugee, currently living in the States. And I think that that is a part of what makes the book so great and moving: It feels so personal, so real, and allready during the first chapter I was moved to tears by her writing.

Another great thing about this novel is how it is historically and culturally correct. Abulhawa has used UN-documents, articles and stories from the media and even research on Israeli soldiers to get this novel as true-to-life as possible. And yet, even though some of the stories are real, the characters are fictional.

The book was originally published by a smaller publisher as The Scar of David, but after they went out of business Bloomsbury Press bought it, and published it, under the new name, Mornings in Jenin. And I am happy that they did! (And also; If anyone could get me the first edition of The Scar of David I would promise my undying gratitude to this person. And maybe even some kinky stuff if it was in a really good shape!)

Abulhawa has been criticized by many for the book, including a rabbi from a synagogue in New York (surprise, surprise!) claiming it was full of “made-up stuff”, and this criticism led to a scheduled speaking from the author at a bookstore to be demoted to a book-signing.

I do, however, believe this to be one of the most accurate and moving stories about the palestinian people’s history, culture, situation and, most importantly to me, long fight for freedom. And I think that everyone should read this book, no matter background, religion, ethnicity or nationality. If not for learning about the conflicts and wars of the Middle-East, then at least for a great and moving story, written in a wonderfully poetic, yet still realistic and personal way.

I would like to include a very moving, to me, entry from the guestbook at www.morningsinjenin.com, written by an american jew by the name of Susan:“I must first comment that Mornings in Jenin is a beautifully-written story. You are a talented writer. More than talented-incredibly gifted.
I am an American Jew who is deeply disturbed by your book. I grew up believing unflinchingly in the existence of Israel, and am now besieged by feelings of horror and sadness at the treatment of the Palestinians by the Israelis as portrayed in your story. Is it all true? I am moved to find out all I can about the formation of Israel and what has happened before and since. I am saddened by the incredible complexity of this issue – the history of Jews vs. Arabs – and am left wondering what I can do to help. […]”

This entry shows how incredibly moving and heartfelt the book is, and also why it is so important for people to read it.

The palestinian-israeli conflict was one of the main reasons I became politically active, and is still one of the most important political causes, to me. Reading this book hasn’t changed my political opinions, only made them stronger, and I also feel a better understanding of the situation. Also, the use of actual arab-terms and the way the book teaches you of the culture and history of the palestinian people just made it even better, to me.

So do you get my point? Read the book!

I believe palestinians to have the most optimistic and beautiful ways of greating each other good-bye:

On the day that Google turns 12, BRBcoffee gets its 150th blogpost, and its 7th author! I’m working on moving the site to a new, better host. I say better, because in terms of features they are, but it’s taking some time for them to activate my account… Anyway, as soon as that happens, I have lots of stuff planned! I think you’ll all like it 😉

Oh, and since I can’t blog without being political… Yo Netanyahu, what you’re doing here is generally known as a dick move! It’s usually not a good idea to resume building big fucking shit on other people’s land, especially if you’re currently engaged in peace-talks with said people, and especially if said people are are already super pissed with you because you built big fucking shit on their land!